An aircraft museum is set to receive a £2 million grant to build a new space for displaying its exhibitions.

The de Havilland Aircraft Museum, in Salisbury Hall, London Colney, has been awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund after national lottery players helped raise the money.

The museum applied for the grant three years ago to enable it to build a large new hangar to provide covered space for its exhibits and a range of community and education facilities.

The museum chairman Alan Brackley said: “The trustees of the museum are delighted that the HLF has awarded them £1.9 million to build the new hangar.

“Thanks to the money raised by the National Lottery players the project will not only safely display several important aircraft exhibits inside the new building away from the rigours of the British weather, including the DH Comet 1a, the world’s first passenger jet airliner, and DH Sea Vixen, but it will be able to offer the local community an exciting venue for meetings, conferences, parties, learning and other social events.”

Construction work on the new hangar is expected to begin in July and completed in 2019.

Planning permission for the project was granted by Hertsmere Council in 2016.

Mr Brackley added: “The museum needs to fundraise a further £250,000, before we get the National Lottery’s permission to start the building works.

“So all support is very welcome and donations made through our website or at the museum.

“We are a working museum where visitors can watch restoration work being carried out and can get up close to the aircraft. It is run by volunteers, some of whom were among the many thousands of people who worked for de Havilland.”

The museum, which attracts several thousands of visitors each year, is the oldest aviation museum in Britain and concentrates on the many types of aircraft and engines built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company at its Hatfield factory in Hertfordshire.

It is based in the grounds of Salisbury Hall, a Tudor mansion, which during the Second World War was used by de Havilland as its secret design centre for its “Wooden Wonder” Mosquito aircraft.

More information about the museum can be found at www.dehavillandmuseum.co.uk